Vessel auxiliary stabilizers



April 23, 1970 A. J. BOSNICH 3,508,511

VES SEL AUXILIARY STABILIZERS Filed Sept. 20. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ANGELO J. BOSNICH April 9 A. J. BOSNICH 3,508,511

VESSEL AUXILIARY STABILIZERS Filed Sept. 20. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA 'lllllllll.

INVENTOR. ANGELO J. BOSN I CH April 28, 1970 A. J. BOSNICH 3,508,511

VESSEL AUXILIARY STABILIZERS Filed Sept. 20, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 6.

INVENTORL ANGELO J. BOSNICH United States Patent 3,508,511 VESSEL AUXILIARY STABILIZERS Angelo John Bosnich, S14 Dumaine St., New Orleans, La. 70116 Filed Sept. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 782,498 Int. Cl. B63b 39/06 U.S. Cl. 114-126 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A paired set of similar but opposed auxiliary rudders or stabilizing vanes for preventing uncontrolled lateral movement of a barge, when unloaded; exemplary designs of the vanes shown in horizontal cross-section in FIGURES 3 (barge to be pushed) and (barge to be towed); to prevent damage, leading edges of the vanes curved inward to ward off foreign objects; to assist in withstanding lateral forces, each vane supported by horizontal and vertical members which ride against the bottom and side of the hull.

This invention relates to auxiliary rudders or stabilizers for the end vessel of a column of unpowered vessels such as barges being pushed or towed for giving the vessels greater stability and guidance, particularly when the vessels are unloaded or at its low water mark. In the usual pushing design of the invention, the auxiliary stabilizer comprises a pair of opposing, generally vertical, curved vanes defining, in the case of a pushed vessel, three similar but alternating vertical chambers, the center one of which opens to the outside and the two end ones open to the inside. In the case of a towed or pulled vessel, the rear chamber can be eliminated.

Heretofore, barges, particularly unloaded ones, when pushed or pulled, were often subject to uncontrolled sideward drift due to winds, cross-currents or the like, making the barges relatively unmanageable and dangerous, especially in narrow channels. Although other projecting vanes of an auxiliary nature for barges and the like have been proposed, none have served to effectively eliminate the problem of uncontrolled sideward drift of barges, particularly unloaded or empty ones. See for example U.S. Patent Nos. 3,089,452 to Pedersen (issued May 14, 1963, 2,068,921 to Leigh (issued Jan. 26, 1937), and 1,980,114 to Taylor (issued Nov. 6, 1934.) It is therefore a major object of the present invention to effectively overcome this problem and further to provide a structure for such a purpose which can be easily and relatively cheaply manufactured and easily and simply removed or added to a vessel. Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following written description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a bottom view of a barge having the invention located near its bow said barge being first in a column of barges being pushed;

FIGURE 2 is a side port view of the barge of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 illustrates with exemplary dimensions, the curvature of the vane;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section view taken along section line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 illustrates the curvature of a second embodiment of the vane, similar in perspective to FIGURE 3 for locating on the last barge of a column of barges being towed; and

FIGURE 6 shows the use of the invention on a series of barges being towed in tandem.

As shown in FIGURE 1, a barge 1 to be pushed is equipped with a paired set of opposed, curved vanes 2 and 2 on the port and starboard sides, respectively, on

Patented Apr. 28, 1970 the bottom 3 of the barge hull and near the barges bow but set back for example, three to eight feet. Each vane (2, 2') defines three similar, curved chambers 4, 4, and 4", the end two (4, 4", fore and aft, respectively) of which open toward the longitudinal centerline 5 of the barge .hull 3, a design which works particularly well when the barge is to be pushed from behind during transit. The end chambers 4, 4" serve as water chamber traps to effectively create a large amount of drag when subjected to movement in a direction lateral to the barge and a minimum amount of drag in a direction parallel to the centerline 5. The curvature of the leading, end tips 6 of chambers 4 tend to ward off any floating, submerged or semi-submerged objects into which the vanes 2, 2 may come into contact, thereby preventing damage to the vanes. Additionally the leading edge 6, as viewed in FIG- URE 2, is curved gently backward. To further protect against damage, all or part of the vane can be made of reinforced hard rubber or other firm but pliable material.

Although many variations are possible, exemplary dimension of a vane made out of, for example, half-inch aluminum sheets are as follows, with particular reference to the detailed dimensions of FIGURE 3. The vane (in cross-section) generally defines a simple sinusoidal path with a varying amplitude of three inches to one inch and a wave-length of approximately three-and-a-third feet. The leading edge 6 of the vane is rolled back unto itself approximately two inches and the vane has a vertical dimension of approximately three feet, thus adding three feet to the draft of the vessel. The vane can be set in from the side 13 of the barge approximately eighteen inches. These exemplary dimensions have been found suitable for barges of the standard type having, for example, a length of a hundred and ninety-five feet and a thirty-five foot beam.

The vanes 2, 2' can be permanently attached if desired but it usually is much more desirable to have them easily removed, so as, for example, to bring drag or water resistance to a minimum when the barge is loaded or to permit easier handling when the barge is to be drydocked. To achieve this, each vane is securely attached (by welding, for example) to a horizontal support member 7 which, as is seen in FIGURE 4, lies flush with the barge bottom 3. To further secure the vane to the arm 7, supplemental support arms 7' are provided. To protect the vanes from damage when the barge is to be beached, additional means can be provided to shunt off or absorb the force of impact. A vertical arm 8 is secured to the horizontal member 7 and it lies flush against the side 13 of the barge 1. Because the horizontal and vertical arms 7 and 8 lie flush with the bottom 3 and side 13 of the barge 1, the vane is capable of withstanding large transverse forces with no bending or changing of its position. The vertical arm 8 rides in a collar 9, which collar is permanently or at least semi-permanently secured to the barge body by member 10. To remove or replace a vane, arm 8 is unbolted from the collar 9 and then slid down and out of the collar 9 and the complete vane assembly taken aboard. To accommodate different size barges having various distances from hull bottom to deckline (freeboard plus draft), a joint 11 is provided to permit easy substitution of various lengths for the vertical arm 8.

A second embodiment or design for the vane is shown in cross-section in FIGURE 5. This design has particular applicability when the barge is to be pulled or towed. The design is similar to that described above and particularly illustrated in FIGURE 3, both in dimension and curvature, with the basic exception that the end, trailing'chamher 4'' is effectively eliminated and in its stead the vane sheet runs straight defining a flat vertical plane 12. Addi- 3 tionally the vanes are placed near the stern rather than the bow.

To further aid in trapping Water in the various chambers (4, 4', 4") when the barge is subjected to transverse forces, the bottom edge of the Vane can be bent inwardly into the chamber for an exemplary distance of two inches, similar to that of the leading edge 6.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the invention can be applied to a series of barges, for example four, joined or pushed in tandem without the necessity of vanes being applied to each barge. In particular, the vanes placed on the barge furthest removed from the tug or powered vessel.

Although a particular preferred embodiment (with two exemplary vane designs) of the invention has been described, the details and dimensions of the disclosed embodiment can be greatly changed and equivalents substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. An auxiliary stabilizing system for unpowered vessels comprising at least one vane (2, 2") attached to the vessel and located adjacent the vessels bottom (3), said vane being a curved sheet of shape-holding material having an undulating horizontal cross-section forming generally an S-curve to define two vertically extending chambers, the first (4) opening toward one side of said vessel, and the second (4') opening toward the other side, whereby said vessel resists any sideward drift or leeway.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said vane is offset from the centerline (5) of said vessel, said first chamber (4) opening away from said centerline (5), said second chamber opening toward said centerline.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said vane has a third portion (4", 12) adjacent to said second portion (4') for assisting the first two portions in resisting uncontrolled lateral motion, said third portion defining a third curved chamber (4"), said third chamber opening away from the centerline (5).

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said vane has a general horizontal cross section of a simple sinusoidal nature.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein said vane has a third portion (4", 12) adjacent to said second portion (4') for assisting the first two portions in resisting uncontrolled lateral motion, said third portion defining a fiat plane (12).

6. The system of any one of claims 15 wherein said system further includes a second vane, generally similar to the first vane in form and similarly disposed, except the analogus chambers of one open in the opposite direction of the other and are located on the opposite side of the centerline (5) than the other.

7. The system of any one of claims 1-5 wherein said vane extends in a generally vertical direction.

8. The system of any one of claims 15 wherein said vane further includes means for support and attachment to the vessel, said means comprising a first element designed to lie against the vessels hull bottom along a substantial portion of its length and a second element designed to lie against the side of the vessel hull nearest the vane along a substantial portion of its length, said vane being attached to said first element which in turn is attached to the second element which in turn is attached to the vessel; whereby said first and second elements assist the vane in resisting transverse forces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner 

